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POLITICO 44

That’s why scoring the prime speaking slot at the Tea Party Patriots’ policy summit in Phoenix was such a coup — and why it's a key opportunity for Pawlenty to continue what’s been something of a teeth-sharpening exercise of recent weeks.

The mild-mannered Pawlenty has been less so of late, as he tries to dispel the “too nice” label that follows his presidential ambitions. And when it comes to his own credentials as a fiscal conservative, his supporters argue he’s got the goods as much as any tea party favorite.

That appeal will be put to the test during his address to roughly 2,000 grass-roots activists Saturday and a presidential straw poll the following day. Pawlenty’s more pointed rhetoric recently has won at least some fans in the movement.

“He came out so strongly against [raising] the debt ceiling,” said Jenny Beth Martin, a national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots. “That’s very attractive to a lot of our supporters.”

Pawlenty backers say he’s been espousing tea party values since before the movement even took shape. He was one of just four governors to earn an A on the libertarian Cato Institute’s most recent fiscal report card. He balanced a $4.3 billion budget deficit without raising taxes, and held out during a long transit strike to win health care cost concessions from bus drivers. And during his two terms in St. Paul, he issued 299 vetoes, blocking tax hikes on everything from gasoline to beer. He does acknowledge regret for enacting a compromise 75-cent-per-pack tax on cigarettes during a partial government shutdown.

“People don’t know this side of him very well, but when he was a state legislator, he was the rabble-rouser for House Republicans in Minnesota,” former deputy chief of staff Brian McClung said. “He was the guy with the one-liners and the quick wit, who took the rabble to the Democrats directly.”

During tomorrow’s speech, Pawlenty will again advocate against increases in the debt ceiling, as well as for repealing President Barack Obama’s health care reform law, an aide told POLITICO. He’ll share stories of his own successes cutting costs and battling unions in left-of-center Minnesota, the aide said, and will also thank the tea party for its passion: The movement captured the House, he will say, and elected GOP leaders elsewhere like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

For some tea party activists, Pawlenty — shortlisted for vice president in 2008 and former vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association — is just too enmeshed with GOP leadership to be trusted. “He’s more establishment,” said Jennifer Leslie, a Tucson, Ariz., coordinator for the conservative women's group Smart Girl Politics.

“I like him, but I’m wary of any of them right now,” said Ginny Rapini, head of the NorCal Tea Party Patriots. “He might be on the right track now, but who knows how long he’ll stay there? Sometimes they drink the water of the Potomac.”

Pawlenty is competing for the spotlight this weekend with long-shot presidential hopeful Herman Cain and libertarian folk hero Ron Paul. The thin list of attractions is a big opportunity for Pawlenty to continue dishing out the conservative red meat he’s grown more comfortable serving recently. He’s lashed out public sector union workers as the “most protected, coddled employees in the country,” and called Obama’s spending policies a “Ponzi scheme.”

“Now, I’m not one who questions the existence of the president’s birth certificate,” he said recently at CPAC. “But when you listen to his policies, don’t you at least wonder what planet he’s from?”

Not everyone is happy with T-Paw’s new tack. David Frum, a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, lamented a lack of seriousness. “Pawlenty is running a campaign of gimmicks and slogans that do not meet scrutiny,” he wrote recently.

Saturday’s speech is a chance for Pawlenty to strike the right balance.

“Instead of being rally speeches or protest speeches which excite the crowd,” said Martin, the Tea Party Patriots’ national coordinator, “they’re going to be more thoughtful, policy-oriented speeches.”

The statement in this article that Pawlenty did not raise taxes is blatantly false. He inherited a 4.2 billion dollar deficit and turned it into a 6.2 billion dollar deficit, and the average property tax went up 40%. For him to be running on a fiscal responsibility platform is ludicrous. He was rarely in the state during his last two years because he was busy elsewhere "nor running for president." He has the backbone of cooked vermicelli but he's twice as slippery. He's a Minnesota northwood "wannabe/neverwas." Want a good laugh? Compare the cover of his book to the Brawny paper towel label.

The statement in this article that Pawlenty did not raise taxes is blatantly false. He inherited a 4.2 billion dollar deficit and turned it into a 6.2 billion dollar deficit, and the average property tax went up 40%. For him to be running on a fiscal responsibility platform is ludicrous. He was rarely in the state during his last two years because he was busy elsewhere "not running for president." He has the backbone of cooked vermicelli but he's twice as slippery. He's a Minnesota northwood "wannabe/neverwas." Want a good laugh? Compare the cover of his book to the Brawny paper towel label.

Poor, poor Timmy. trying so hard to be relevant. I saw him speaking at some event a few days ago and it was actually laughable watching him try to get all riled up like the baggers. it was so fake that it became difficult to watch after just a few minutes. During the R primary fight he can be the comic relief. Too bad he won't realize that people are actually laughing AT him as opposed to WITH him.

Mr. Pawlenty can strike any balance he wants, but he will not be elected to national office. He chose not to run again in Minnesota because he knew he could not win. Despite his exaggerated rhetoric, he did not succeed at any of his main objectives in Minnesota, and left the state with a far larger deficit than when he came to office. In short, he has no record to run on, he has no plan (other than pandering, which seems to be his only current mode of communication), and he has no real reason to be elected by anybody with a brain.

T-Paw shouldn't worry about the red meat - his record is otherwise solid and speaks for itself, especially coming from moonbat country. If he gets the nomination, Chris Christie can be his bad cop VP. Obama would have to defend NJ, and with the exception of Illinois, the midwest would be a killing field for him. He would bleed Obama dry, and the election might not even be close.

Daniels would also be good. He's labeled a RINO which will win him the independent vote, but his record is that of a pretty stellar conservative.

You obviously aren't from Minnesota if you think Pawlenty's record is rock solid. He's a joke which we Minnesotans all know. He's not to be trusted...And the way he's acting now is just to pander to the Tea Party because he thinks they can help him get elected if he can fool them into thinking he's one of them. He's a fake.

Well, I see little Timmy's mommie must still hold her position at Politico the only place you ever even hear about the Governor who took the once prosperous state of MN, failed for 8 years to balance the budget and left it with deficit and debts for years to come.

The Tea Party would attract alot more independents and conservative Democrats if they'd stick to a platform of fiscal conservatism. Unfortunately, their gatherings appear, on the surface at least, to be nothing more than "a celebration of meanness and ignorance".

Having attended the Tea Party Summit Convention in beautiful downtown Phoenix under clear blue skies and mid 70s temperatures, I found the sessions to be entertaining and informational and inspiring. I'm on my way back today. The crowd is respectful of all speakers and Tim Pawlenty will get an enthusiastic reception just like Herman Cain did. That doesn't mean the speakers are winning converts. It means we respect the attempt to gain some mind share and show our appreciation because unlike the Democrat goons, we are well mannered. There are people here from all over the country. We are a growing organization and will be a major factor in the 2012 elections. No smear tactics will dissuade us as the November elections demonstrated. No disdain by the media or pundits will hurt our enthusiasm. We are committed to putting the brakes on the runaway spending by Congress and the President and we will endure and ultimately take our country back from the Progressives who have destroyed our children and our grandchildren's future and rebuild America into the greatest country on earth once again. To our detractors, In say, get stuffed.